For four innings Friday night, the game between the Ogden Raptors and Billings Mustangs was a pitcher's duel.Then, with one out and the bases loaded in the fifth, one ground ball caused the wheels to fall off for the Raptors' defense as every runner, including the batter, scored.Despite a shutdown
For four innings Friday night, the game between the Ogden Raptors and Billings Mustangs was a pitcher's duel.
Then, with one out and the bases loaded in the fifth, one ground ball caused the wheels to fall off for the Raptors' defense as every runner, including the batter, scored.
Despite a shutdown job by the relievers after that play and a late rally from the Ogden bats, the Raptors fell, 4-3, in game two of the four-game set with the first-half leading Mustangs.
After Caleb Sampen's three shutout innings with just one hit allowed, Justin Bruihl entered and pitched a scoreless fourth. In the fifth, however, Bruihl allowed consecutive hits and a walk with one out to load the bases. Reza Aleaziz entered and fell behind Zeek White, who then smashed a ball to the left side. Ronny Brito attempted to backhand the ball but it kicked off his glove into shallow left.
Two runs came around to score and White broke for second. Raptors third baseman Kenneth Betancourt picked up the ball and threw to second but missed and the ball went into foul territory to allow the runner from first to score. White went to third base and rounded the bag before stopping halfway down the line as Niko Hulsizer fired toward the plate. Hulsizer throw was also wild, however, and White trotted home to complete the "little league" grand slam.
Ogden was shut down for six innings by former Dodgers farmhand James Marinan, who was traded from Los Angeles to Cincinnati, Billings' parent club, in July. After a scoreless seventh they finally got going in the eighth, as Betancourt singled to right and Jeremy Arocho doubled off the glove of a diving White down the left field line. Daniel Robinson grounded out to score Betancourt and Dillon Paulson crushed a sacrifice fly to left, which was caught by White on a leap at the wall, to plate Arocho.
The Raptors entered the ninth still trailing, 4-2. With one out, Eric Peterson was hit by a pitch. Ramon Rodriguez singled to right with two down, and a Betancourt infield hit plated Peterson. Arocho was hit by a pitch to load the bases, and Robinson worked the count full. The left-handed hitter sent a flare to left on the eighth pitch of the at-bat, but White was there again with a sliding catch to end the game.
Other than the one pitch in the fifth inning, Ogden's pitching staff was dominant. Aleaziz and Evy Ruibal finished the final three and two-third innings with only one runner reaching base, which came on a two-out error in the seventh.
Thanks to that the Raptors doubled up the Mustangs in total hits, but they left two runners on base in two separate innings among the first five frames.
Billings' win guarantees they will at least split the series, and Ogden needs to take the last two to earn a split. Game three will be Saturday night at 6:05 at Dehler Park in Billings.
